


Devil's Backbone

by siriuslyblack_13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 04:39:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8651470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siriuslyblack_13/pseuds/siriuslyblack_13
Summary: Julianne Potter barely survived the first Wizarding War. The death of her twin brother and his wife would have been hard enough if the man she loved hadn't been responsible for it, if he hadn't killed one of their best friends, if she hadn't been left pregnant and alone. Starts in Prisoner of Azkaban with flashbacks to the Marauder Era. Sirius x OC





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Devil's Backbone](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/243415) by sincerelysophie. 



> A few years ago, I posted this fic on FF.net, but I decided to move it over here and rewrite parts of it.

_“James!”_

 

Jules woke up in a cold sweat. Her heart pounded against her ribcage, and her black hair was plastered across her sticky forehead. Her eyes darted around the dark room, and she pulled herself up on her elbows to survey the darkness. The small flat she rented in London was silent. She took a deep breath and ran her hands over her face before slipping out of her bed. She pulled a soft nightgown over her bare shoulders and shuffled down the hallway to the next bedroom.

 

Making her way to her daughter Lucy’s bedroom, Jules sat down on the edge of the twin bed and pushed the eleven year old's black curls off of her forehead. She planted a kiss on her daughter’s forehead, and the young girl stirred a little. Jules watched as her child spun around in bed and snuggled deeper into the covers. Her heart rate relaxed. All was well. It was just a dream. Jules made her way back to her bedroom and lay down against the pillows.

 

Julianne was 33 years old, and she had been incomplete for nearly 12 years. After her twin had been murdered, and her fiancé had been charged with the crime, her life had ceased to be the same. Nightmares plagued her almost every night, and she no longer had another half to comfort her. Every bad dream left her chest aching and empty for a life long gone and her brother long dead.

 

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath in.

 

A knock on the door made her hazel eyes snap back open. The knocking was persistent, growing louder as she exited her room.

 

“Mummy?” Lucy’s voice called out into the dark hall as Jules lit up the small flat with her wand and a quick Lumos.

 

“It’s alright, love,” Jules called back. “Stay in bed.”

 

She peeked out the peephole in the door to see who it was, and her stomach lurched.

 

“Kingsley,” Jules addressed the towering auror in her doorframe. Her tired brain was jumping to all the worst conclusions, but nothing could have prepared her for what was said.

“Julianne,” Kingsley sounded disappointed. “I have bad news. May I…?”

 

“Of course,” Jules stepped aside and let the towering auror come into her home. They moved into the living room, and the pair of them stood at opposing ends of the room. Kingsley fiddled with the rings on his hands.

 

“You may want to sit down,” Kingsley said in his low, rumbling tone.

 

“I’ll stand,” Julianne insisted. Her heart was racing again. Kingsley sighed deeply and looked at her with the eyes of an old friend. “You said it was bad news…”

 

“Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban,” Kingsley said as calmly as he could manage. “The ministry wanted to send a search party, but I—“

 

“He escaped,” Julianne’s vision began to blur. She took off her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. “How did he escape from Azkaban? You all promised he’d be gone forever, he’d _rot_ —“

  
“Jules, there are a lot of questions we don’t have answers for,” Kingsley sighed. The second part of what Kingsley had been saying clicked in her head.

 

“You think he’s here?” She asked. “You think I’m hiding the man responsible for my brother’s murder? Here?”

 

“At the least, you would be one of the first people he’d look for. It wouldn’t make sense not to—“ Kingsley tugged on the sleeve of his robe and took a deep breath, before creaks on the floorboards behind them two adults made them jump. Half expecting to see a ragged prisoner, they turned to see a slender eleven-year-old girl with a head full of wild curls and striking grey eyes.

 

“Mum?” Lucy’s eyes drifted from the auror to her mother.

 

“Lucy-Goose,” Jules tried to sound light hearted as she adjusted herself into a warmer posture. “What are you doing out of bed, my darling?”

 

“I heard…” She inspected the tall auror carefully. His dark skin and kind smile made her feel like they were going to take her away. In her lifetime, Aurors had rarely been signs of protection. “I thought maybe Uncle Moony had come over…”

 

“No, Goose,” Jules said gently. “This is my old friend Kingsley. He’s here to make sure…”

 

The air stood still, and Lucy watched bewildered as her mother made her way towards her. Jules pulled Lucy into her side and kissed the top of her head.

 

“He’s here to make sure that we’re not hiding any muggles for illegal magic testing,” Julianne lied, for the first time, to her daughter. “I’ll make some tea… Just sit on the sofa where I can see you.”

 

Jules’ eyes met Kingsley’s and the two adults made a mutual agreement to never speak of the lie that had been told. As Kingsley searched the flat with a locator spell, Jules found chocolate just in case dementors were the next unwelcome visitors she’d have to deal with at this hour.

 

Lucy sat on the sofa and pulled the throw blanket around her. The air had changed in the apartment, and her mother’s usual flightiness had become exacerbated. She wished Remus were there, knowing that her mother had lied to her, and he wouldn’t have.

 

_ 11 Years Ago… _

__

_Remus Lupin walked into the psychiatric ward of St. Mungo’s with a bunch of haphazardly collected lilacs. Jules loved lilacs, and the hope was that it might bring a bit of joy to the pale blank walls of Mungo’s. The mediwitches all watched him carefully as he went to the room that was visited by only two other wizards: Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley._

_Inside the dark room, Remus saw the silhouette of a now-quite pregnant Julianne. She was sitting on the windowsill, watching the life occurring outside of the barred, enchanted glass. Her hair was cropped short so that she couldn’t pull it out in chunks. Her eyes had heavy dark circles under them. As she registered his footsteps into the room, her shoulders tensed._

_“They won’t let me see Harry,” Jules’ words shook as her head turned and her hazel eyes met his amber ones. “James won’t come to visit.”_

_Remus replaced the flowers on her bedside table and walked over to the window. The healers insisted the window had helped remind her of the life she had in her. Remus’ own theory was that it reminded her she wasn’t alone, no matter how isolated she felt. They said she cried for James a lot in the night. That she had started throwing things if they brought_ him _up, but she wouldn’t take off the ring. Remus placed a hand on her arm, and though her eyes had been staring at him, it took the physical touch for her to focus and truly register his presence._

_“How’s the baby?” Remus smiled half-heartedly. She had become a shell of the girl he knew and loved. He knew better than to try and feel her stomach. The last time he had tried, he’d ended up with a bruise. Silence followed. “I brought you lilacs, Julie. Remember when we used to pick lilacs at your parents’ house around this time of year… You loved that…”_

_Tears began to well up in her eyes. They fell without struggle down each cheek._

_“Oh, love,” Remus said gently. He helped Jules out of the windowsill and pulled her into his arms as tightly as he could with her protruding belly. “It’s alright. Shh…” He stroked her head and let her crumble into his arms. He knew it was only a matter of time before she became so overwhelmed with grief that she would dissociate again._

_Remus let her feel, and scream, and beat his chest with her balled up fists. He sat her down on the bed, and let her rage at the injustice the world had done to her._

_Remus visited her four times a week, excluding the week of the full moon, and every week was the same. She had stopped fighting her pain. The tears had stopped. She lay on her back, with her hands balanced on top of her stomach. Remus got up and prepared himself to leave. He liked to think that by being here did some good, and that maybe he’d walk out of Mungo’s with at least one of his best friend’s still around. Maybe he’d still have a family one day._

_“James won’t come to visit, Remus,” Jules’ voice was distant once again. A long silence filled the room. Remus walked towards the door and placed his hand on the doorknob with a beleaguered sigh. The visits always ended like they started._

_“He won’t come to visit because he’s gone,” Remus’ head snapped around and found Jules sitting upright now, her eyes wide and full of tears again. “Lily, James… They’re both gone. They’re gone, and I’m alone.”_

_Remus hadn’t heard more than the two dissociative phrases she could muster._

_“Don’t leave me too,” Jules pleaded. “I can’t do this on my own…”_

_He took three long strides back to her bed and placed one hand on either side of her face. He kissed the top of her forehead and his eyes began to water._

_“I’m not going anywhere,” He promised. “I’m bloody useless at sticking around, but I promise… I’m not going anywhere, not without you.”_

_“Of course the bastards leave me stuck with you,” She began to laugh through her tears. She placed her hands on his shoulders, and they laughed and cried for the first time since their worlds had fallen apart. The baby began to kick, and Jules placed his hand on her stomach. In that moment, a moment of pure light and life amidst a never-ending darkness, they formed their own family._

_ The Morning After the Escape… _

__

Remus let himself into the flat. His heart was pounding. There was no movement in the flat. A pot of cold tea sat on the coffee table. The throw blanket was heaped on the floor. Lucy’s bedroom door was open. He peaked inside and saw her unmade bed. He knocked lightly on Julianne’s slightly ajar door and saw her wide-awake with Lucy asleep in her arms.

 

Remus quietly made his way to the bed, the “Have You Seen This Wizard?” poster crumpled up in his hand. He slid out of the shoes and lay on the other side of Lucy. Jules turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were red from crying. Remus shoved the poster into his pocket and reached out for her hand.

 

“I haven’t told them yet,” Jules whispered. “How am I supposed to tell them?”


End file.
